Tribals congregate to celebrate, make music and some harmless ribbing. Body painting, cross-dressing and ‘abusing’ passersby are all part of the one-of-a-kind festivities

Kunde” “Kunde” “Kunde”.. they shout, howl and whistle all day long, walking in the streets of Thithimathi and Devarapura in Virajpet taluk of Kodagu. If you have seen the pictures, you will understand that this is a festival that is as colorful and lively as any other celebration.

Cross-dressed men who adorn any attire irrespective of whether it is fashionable or not, is the idea behind this theme. Personalities that are chosen for aping are deities, young girls, demons and anything under the sun.

The most funny part of the festival is the music. They use drums made of buckets which are used to store water, as well as metals and Dish TV antenna receivers, adding to the noise of the parade.

Kunde Habba or the Bodu Habba has been a century-old tradition in Kodagu celebrated by tribals. A tribal man who was dressed up like a fierce deity said, “This is a festival where we abuse gods and the divine power. Our forefathers have told us that Lord Aiyappa who was living in this region betrayed our tribal clan and from that day, once in a year, and especially on the last Thursday of May, we celebrate this festival.”

All these men are not from one place. They come from various places marching along, shouting Kunde…Kunde..Kunde to meet at the Aiyappa Temple at Devarapura by afternoon. All the sects and clans of tribal men reached the place where the “Bhandara Takka” or the keepers of the temple wealth, the Sannuvanda family members, were present.

The festivities come to a close when all of them dance around the temple and meet and greet each other. There were close to a thousand people who participated in this festival, which was held under police vigil.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> News> State / by Kaushik JN, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / May 28th, 2017